Buttermilk?

[trof]

Poll question: Buttermilk?

As a kid growing up in Alabama, buttermilk was occasionally a beverage option at home.
Grandpa loved it.
I was never forced to drink it.
I tried it once and thought it was the vilest stuff I had ever swallowed.

In my 20s I was having lunch at a 'meat and 3' place one day.
(A meat and choice of 3 veggies. Home cookin'. Think meatloaf, or fried chicken, or chicken fried steak, etc. with 3 sides of your choice like turnip greens, fried okra, slaw, green beans, navy beans, corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, etc., etc.)

I decided to try a glass of buttermilk with this typically southern meal and it was perfect.
Tart and slightly astringent.

Now, in my 60s, I can't stand it again.
Go figure.
:shrug:

[Kali]

1. gotta have it in ranch dressing?

in Turkey they drink a kind of salty yogurt drink, ayran - it is very similar to our buttermilk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayran

[trof]

5. Good in some marinades and fried chicken 'dredges'.

And yes, in ranch dressing.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. When I was growing up, older people loved it

Everyone in my generation (born 1950s) thought it was the most disgusting stuff sold in stores.

I have never had the courage to try it again.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. My dear trof!

I generally like it, but I have to admit I haven't had it often...

Maybe I've just been lucky!

:hi:

[tjwash]

4. With salt and pepper in it?

[trof]

9. Salt and pepper on cantaloupe and watermelon.

Try it.
:-)

[tjwash]

11. Now you guys are OFFICIALLY KILLING ME.

Cantaloupe and watermelon with a little salt and pepper and cottage cheese!

w00t!

I get exited over little stuff like that.

[nolabear]

6. I was more or less raised in a meat-and-three

owned by my grandparents. My mother died when I was young and we went to them. It was on the MS coast and buttermilk was called "clabber," which didn't add to the appeal a bit if you weren't into it. But I got to like it. My grandparents crumbled cornbread into it and I did the same with "sweet milk." And as I'm sure you know it makes the absolute best biscuits, cornbread and pie crust in the known world.

*sigh* And here I sit, sipping green tea and contemplating whether to put tofu in the soup I'm making for dinner.

[trof]

8. Dessert for my Cajun father-in-law:

A bowl of buttermilk...with cornbread crumbled in...it sprinkled with sugar.
Go figure.

[supernova]

12. Cooking and baking with buttermilk

is divine.

It adds an extra zing!

[wickerwoman]

15. Yeah, love it in pancakes and biscuits.

I didn't know that people drank it straight. Sounds kind of disgusting, but it takes all types. :)

[trof]

17. The glass (after drinking) is the really disgusting part.

Like white varicose veins running down the inside of the glass.
yuck

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

21. Nothing's better then homemade cornbread made with Buttermilk

:P :9

[cordelia]

20. Haven't heard "clabber" in years

Thanks for bringing back some good memories.

I grew up on a farm in GA, and there was always clabber around.

My dad would often just have some cornbread and buttermilk for his dinner. I never developed a taste.

[nolabear]

22. Good GRIEF this is all making me hungry!

Not for buttermilk, but cornbread is sounding better all the time!

[MajorChode]

7. I always have buttermilk in the fridge

I don't drink the stuff, but I use it for cooking quite a bit.

[GirlAfire]

10. We're in...

...Alabama as well. Are you still in AL?

I HATE buttermilk, but the crazy thing is that I've never tasted it. It just SMELLS disgusting, and that's enough to convince me that it tastes like it smells.

My mom likes to have a piece of cornbread in a bowl and pour buttermilk over it. Disgusting!

EDIT: Oh, trof! I just noticed your mentioning that cornbread/buttermilk mix. My mom doesn't add the sugar though. My mom explained that she ate it because she was poor, and that's really all she and her sisters had.

[trof]

14. Well...BACK in Alabama. Welcome to DU!

I was out of state for about 30 years, pursuing my career.
Airline pilot.
TWA and Nippon Cargo Airlines.
Came back in a pre-retirement move in '93.
Retired (Just QUIT, really) in '99.
I'm in Foley.
:hi:

[GirlAfire]

18. Thanks for the Welcome!

...and I'm in Birmingham.

Busy, busy, aren't you! Hopefully, you'll stay in AL. :hi:

[sazemisery]

13. "Real" buttermilk vs "Cultured" buttermilk

"Real" buttermilk is what is left when you make real butter from cream. "Cultured" buttermilk is made from milk with Streptococcus lactis (lactic acid bacteria) added and allowed to ferment.

I always drank the "real" stuff after the butter was made. I loved it. "Cultured" buttermilk, meh, not so much.

[trof]

16. Always wondered about 'cultured'.

Don't think I've ever had the real thing.

[sazemisery]

19. Go buy some whipping cream....

and whip it with electric mixer or by hand (lot of work) until it breaks down into butter. The leftover liquid is real buttermilk. Put in the fridge or add ice. Tastes like rich nonfat milk with a light tang.

[nolabear]

23. We used to show our kids how to make it by hand

with a baby food jar full of very cold cream. They'd shake it and shake it and eventually it would churn up a little butter. They were like, "meh." I was way more impressed! Hah!

[MajorChode]

25. I never noticed much difference

Even what you're calling "real" buttermilk was still fermented, so it still had pretty much the same taste. The biggest difference was the texture as the naturally occurring bacteria fermented a bit differently.

You can make your own butter by churning whole milk in a food processor. While I guess you could call the liquid left over "buttermilk", it really isn't the same thing as commercially available buttermilk before cultured buttermilk came along because no fermentation has taken place. It will still taste a bit sour because of the concentration of lactic acid, but not as much as commercially available buttermilk regardless of whether it's "real" or cultured. It won't work the same in most recipes either because the ph is not as low.

The biggest difference I see with cultured buttermilk is since the butter hasn't been removed, it's possible to buy cultured buttermilk with a higher fat content. "Real" buttermilk was always low-fat since the milk fats had been removed.

[Zomby Woof]

24. I like it

Mostly use it for making pancakes and cornbread. But sometimes I will pour a glass while using it for cooking. Has to be VERY cold. It tastes like liquid cottage cheese, and since I like cottage cheese, it isn't much of a stretch.

I am a dairy fiend. Good thing I am not lactose intolerant. :-)

[TheKentuckian]

26. Utterly putrid as a beverage but a great ingredient (nt)

[Skittles]

27. proves we are idiots in our 20's

yes INDEED :D